Kingdom Hearts: Memory's Reflection
by Cometstarlight
Summary: After KH 3D: After waking up with no previous memory, a teen with the ability to see into one's memories, joins the fight in bringing back justice with Sora and co. However, the New Org. XIII already has set their plan into motion. It's a race against time as the clash between light and dark inevitably comes to a head! First KH fanfic; would love feeback
1. Prologue

"The last thing I remember…What was it? I can't quite recall…its so dark-

_Your door is about to open_

"Huh? Who's there? Who said that?"

_You can't hesitate. You have a role to play_

"I don't understand. What role? Why am I here?"

The voice began to fade away before it came back again.

_You have every right to be afraid. Many before you have felt overwhelmed by over daunting tasks and so will many after you. You are here for a reason…_

The voice began to evolve to a murmuring fuzzy sound. It was like trying to hear when you have an ear infection. The voice continued to speak even though the words couldn't be heard quite right.

"No, I don't understand! What are you trying to say? Who are you?!"

There was another longer silence, during which another voice could be heard. It was still masked by the distance and lack of understanding, but there was a distinct difference. It was lighter, a woman perhaps? No, no not quite a woman, maybe a younger woman. A girl. Female. The voice was female. What was happening?

_There will be pain and suffering_

The voice finally came back within hearing, the original one.

_Make no mistake of that. This is for the good of everyone. No matter what they may speak in the future, this is the right decision. It has to be. This choice will at least keep others safe for a little while longer_

"For the love of humanity, please tell me what's going on?" The speaker's voice sounded on the verge of tears. "What's going on? What's going on…" the speaker continued to say this repeatedly as the feeling of long gripping appendages wrapped onto to the speaker's unseen arms.

The female voice was heard again, but once more, it was fuzzy. The voice escalated, as if leading into a burning argument.

_It doesn't matter! _

The voice was deep. It was most certainly a man's voice.

_The time has come. You must begin and…complete._

Now it was the man's voice that trembled.

_Correct what I could not._

_And just what is that?_

It was then the speaker took note of the voices again. That last remark was made by the female voice! It was barely audible, but understandable! Meanwhile, the dark unseen appendages began to drag again, but the speaker's legs seemed to be glued to the ground. What was going on?

…

The pause dragged on, just as the sickly sliming appendages wrapped tighter and tighter. Would he speak? The reason to believe that that answer would somehow resolve the situation of these tightening tendrils was too much.

…

The speaker's body began to stretch as the tendrils once tugging notions turned into yanking and jerking. Pain ripped into the sinews of the speaker's shoulder. The burning was rooting it deeper and the pain gnawed and tore through the muscle as it sank through to the bone.

"No more, please, no more!" The speaker shouted with sorrow twisting the words with agony. "Let me go!" The screams began to pierce the otherwise dead silence.

…

"Just answer!" The speaker's tears rippled down and tumbled before falling to the black abyss below before spasms from crying jolted the body. "Please."

_My heart's folly_

An almost unbearably bright light spread within seconds. The speaker could hear screams behind her and pulled her hands, which had now been released by the creature, to her eyes. A blast of a warm fresh air came roaring up from the ground and tossing her once elegant brown hair upwards. She opened her eyes, startled by this stark change in mood before looking down.

There bright shaded facets of glass beneath her tennis shoes and they multiplied as the color, and the light it was coming from, shot out like a sonic wave. It was then that the most startling event yet occurred. Doves. These dark shards that were being chased away by the light turned into snow-white doves. Only their delicate wings slicing the air could be heard as she watched them soar out into the darkness, leaving her to stand on a circular stained glass floor.

She studied the glass and could see a young woman, perhaps someone in their mid to late teens? The stained glass produced a picture of this teen. The eyes were closed so she couldn't see the color, but the clothes were something different. A plain black T-shirt could be seen along with a grayish vest that cut off after the shoulders. A single chained necklace was visible against the black shirt. The chain was holding a flattened heart that reflected the light but also had a dark swirl in the same reflection. There wasn't much more to say, other than the pants were a jean blue, but appeared to be a more comfortable material. They looked as if they were easier to move in, as if they were a bit looser around the pant legs. The last detail she noticed were the sky blue ribbons wrapped around the girl's arms in a diamond weave fashion before the leftover pieces hung by her hands.

She spoke before catching herself. "Who are you?" Her voice was groggy, like a teen waking early to go to school.

_It begins_

The voice was female again, the same from before. It was still unrecognizable in origin, but she understood it for face value.

"What?" before any conversation was engaged, another bright light emerged from below her, but this time it didn't blind her. It backlit the stained glass picture, giving it an otherworldly glow as light shards phased through the glass. The light continued in its brightness and only increased from there until the girl began to smile in the tingling warm glow. The feeling was strange in the way that she could only describe it as someone you trust, or even a loved one, it was like a warm hug. She would probably never want to admit to that as it sounded so weird, but that's what it felt like- a reassuring hug from a loved one.

This warm embraced wrapped around her much easier and kinder than the dark tentacles that had yanked and tried to contort her body. Instead these light tendrils seemed to dance across her skin and clean it of any abnormalities. It was like a lathering soap and it continued to 'hug' her in its grasp.

Just as the girl began to forget her previous anxiety, her feet lifted off the ground. She levitated for a brief second before everything was engulfed in white, then black again. Blackness. Not like the previous darkness, but it still covered her again. It didn't last for very long, however. The dark veil lifted up like a curtain and light enveloped her again, except for this time, she seemed to be in a hallway. Where was she now?

* * *

This is what I have so far. Feedback or constructive criticism would be much appreciated. So yeah, it's good to be back, I hope you guys enjoyed and be sure to tell me what you think! I hope to go through with this series as something that I can do to entertain others. It's rated PG for now, but there may be a possibility that it may go to T, but for now, its PG. Again, this is the prologue, but I still hoped you enjoyed it : )


	2. Chapter 1: The Spark

Quick Note: I've been typing this part over and over again while trying to find the perfect balance between detail and general descriptions when I realized that there are pictures on the internet and youtube. Yeah…I'll still try to describe the characters in a general form that allows viewers who aren't familiar with Kingdom Hearts (which if you aren't I don't know why you're here or why you haven't played them yet. Check 'em out, they're pretty awesome) to get the feeling of their appearance. So, yes, if I don't describe them in their most descriptive and literary art form then please forgive me as I would aspire to become an actual writer someday, but I still want to make this as well as I can : )

* * *

_Where could Sora be?!_ Riku thought as the scores of Heartless began to descend upon the Mysterious Tower. He pulled out his Way to Dawn keyblade and began to slash through the shadows that tried to push their way into the tower. Granted, they were shadows and amongst the easiest to wipe out, but they just kept coming!

"Back off!" Riku shouted as he blasted a section with a firaga spell. He backed up to the stairs in front of the door before doing more horizontal and vertical slashes, tearing them into remnants of smoke which quickly evaporated into the air.

With another spiral slice he decapitated a dozen shadows before he heard the door open.

"Riku!"

Riku turned around to see Kairi with her keyblade, Destiny's Embrace, in hand. She ran down the stairs and began slicing Heartless, albeit, not as skilled as Riku was slicing, but she was improving.

"Hah!" She split several of the creatures in half before reaching Riku. "You ready?"

Riku wasn't surprised she was here, no, only that it took her this long. He smiled and flipped his keyblade. "The question is, are you?" The two went out and began doing basic maneuvers to eradicate the pests. At some point during the fight, Riku turned around and watched as Kairi was swarmed with new shadows.

"Kairi, use your light!" he shouted as neo shadows began to form. This wasn't right. Shadows were one thing, but these more humanoid varieties were more capable of creating problems.

Kairi's face didn't express the slightest twinge of fear as the neo shadows as well as their inferior counterparts surrounded her. She swung her keyblade at the Heartless in random patterns, to Riku's dismay.

_What is she doing? She can't fight them all off at the same time unless she-_

As if detecting Riku's troubled mind, Kairi suddenly pointed her blade towards the sky and closed her eyes. At the end of her blade, Riku could see a sparkle of light twinkling before it grew into a large sphere.

"Take this!" Kairi cried in a fierce tone that Riku didn't know she was capable of creating as seven streams of light came out at blazing speeds. They flew upward before intertwining with each other in the air. They spun and weaved between each other in amazing fashions before plummeting below. Riku shielded his face from the blinding light explosion that caused instant evaporation for the shadows and neo shadows. There was a slight rainbow in the attack that twirled around the user before, it too, evaporated into thin air. In the end was its user, throwing the arm that held her keyblade to her side, a determined smirk on her face.

The Heartless were gone. Those must've been the last ones. Either way, Riku approached Kairi before chuckling. "You've gotten a lot better since we brought you here. Good job."

Kairi smiled and gripped her blade with both hands and nearly jumped with joy. "Really, you think so?"

"Definitely. You put those things in their place." He smiled before looking around. "You haven't heard from or seen Sora today, have you?"

Kairi shook her head and the glow nearly vanished from her eyes. "N-no, not today. I don't know, Riku, shouldn't he be back by now?"

He scratched the back of his head and looked away for a moment. Sora had been to several places since he was almost made Xehanort's thirteenth vessel. Traverse Town was one of them, but he couldn't find Neku or the others like Riku had hoped he would. Instead, he found all the Dream Eaters they had created and befriended through their last journey. A welcome surprise, yes, but Yen Sid wasn't quite sure how their powers would work in the Realm of Light, a world that wasn't asleep, or even partially asleep.

Digressing aside, Sora had gone off to check on the other worlds and make sure that the New Organization XIII hadn't shown their faces for their new vessel any where.

"I'm not sure," Riku finally answered Kairi's question. "I bet he's catching up with some friends back in the other worlds." He laughed. "He can't keep up with the time, that Sora."

Kairi laughed back, realizing he was most likely right.

Their laughing was interrupted, however, when Donald burst through the door, squabbling and hollering, which was arguably even more hilarious.

"Where were you, Donald?" Riku furrowed his brow. "You missed all the fun. Kairi here kicked more shadow tails than you did!"

"Come quickly, guys, Master Yen Sid's orders!" He squabbled some more before Riku and Kairi eyed each other questionably.

"Let's go," Riku began to run up the stairs.

"Yeah," Kairi and Donald followed suit.

* * *

Riku and Kairi quickly ran through the door into Yen Sid's chamber. Donald was following close behind.

"Master Yen Sid, you called for us?" Riku asked while standing up a bit straighter. Kairi did the same.

The Master didn't even look at them. The older wizard stared out the window into the star stretched landscape. By the looks of it, he seemed to be stroking his beard before shaking his head. He turned around toward the two wielders.

"Yes, I did, I'm afraid I have grave news."

"It's not about Sora, is it?" Kairi stood with a nervous gaze.

The Master shook his head again. "No, it has nothing to do with him. Although, he should be back soon." He looked down. "As you already know, it has nearly been three months since you, Riku, and Sora came back from your test. Riku," he addressed, "you passed and gained your title of Master, as well as becoming the new True Keyblade Master."

Riku wasn't sure why he was stating things he already knew, but he nodded anyway. "Yes, Master."

"In that time, Kairi has begun her training and the three of you have gone back and forth from Destiny Islands and here, is that not correct?"

Kairi answered this time. "Yes, Master, it is true.

"I had hoped that we were going to have more time, but I find it questionable at the moment."

Suddenly, a corridor of darkness appeared in the corner before the flamed headed Lea stepped out of it. It was still a sort of a shock to Riku that he was on their side since he still sported the black coat attire.

"Hey, what's with holding this keyblade wielder meeting without me? I thought I was in on this stuff with you guys." The corridor dissipated and he walked over to the space next to the book shelf before leaning up against the wall.

"Ah, Lea." Yen Sid acknowledged. "I was hoping you could come, but I wasn't sure if my message was going to reach you."

Lea waved him off. "Nah, I got it. It just took me a while to get here." He looked down at his hand. "No biggie, I'm here now." He answered with his casual cocky attitude.

"As I was saying, I fear that we are beginning to run out of time." The old sorcerer turned back to the window. "See for yourself. The end of a world."

"No," Kairi held her hands together as they began to gather slowly around the window. Lea didn't though; he merely walked over to the desk to see over them.

"I don't see it." Riku looked around until he spotted a very faint light. It appeared as if it were fighting to keep its light burning. It amazed him that it was even able to hold on for this long. "Never mind."

The star dimmed before giving one final spark and going completely dark in the night sky.

Riku and Kairi made a sudden intake of breath.

"No," Kairi said again. Her face crumbled as she remembered the Destiny Islands when they had succumbed to darkness. To be without a home, it was a tragedy.

"That spark; just before the world went out." Riku pointed. "What was that?"

"That is what I find questionable. I don't know if the world succumbed due to darkness alone. It would seem that that world in particular was suffering for a longer time than imagined." He stroked his beard again.

"Why didn't you send your King or someone to help it then?" Lea asked. "I'm sure there was something that could've been done."

"I wish there was, but the roads to that world were blocked off in a way that I could not explain. It wasn't asleep either, so Sora and Riku couldn't reach it during their previous endeavor." He turned to Lea. "That last spark. I have seen the likes of it before as a world goes out. I want to believe that means a light came from it."

"A…light?" Kairi inquired.

"Yes." Yen Sid nodded before looking to Donald and Goofy, who had shockingly remained silent for the conversation. "If you remember while in Traverse Town, there was a sudden spark before Destiny Islands went out. It was Sora being shot out from the world in an unusual way that put him in Traverse Town as well."

"So, that means there could be a light, a person, who survived the darkness?" Riku asked.

"Yes. That last spark signals a powerful nature." He concurred. "I ordinarily wouldn't suggest this, but if the current circumstances continue to progress the way they do now, then I believe this will not be the last time I consider this." His face seemed worn, the way it usually did as he looked from Kairi to Lea and everyone in between. "We are going to need more help if we are to fight Xehanort and his thirteen vessels. As much as I am afraid to say this, I am unsure that all of our seven lights will be able to fight him off."

"But, uh, Master Yen Sid." Goofy spoke for the first time in the conversation. "We don't have all of our seven lights." He stuck out a hand and began to count each finger. "We've got Sora, Riku, Kairi, and the King, and uh, that's only four." He stuck out his hand to the Master.

"I understand your confusion, but all will be made clear in due time. I'll save that story for another time, but for now, we should go about our routines with caution. Look for that light, if you can, and always be aware of the New Organization XIII." His stare burrowed into every individual. "They will stop at nothing to find their last vessel. They may set their sights on you as well as your friends in other worlds. Be careful."

"Yes, Master." Everyone but Lea said in unison. He had an eyebrow raised at Goofy.

"What do ya mean, 'there's only four,' eh? Do I not count?" Lea berated Goofy as they walked down the stairs and out of Yen Sid's study.

"Riku."

The teen turned around. "Yes, Master?"

"I would like to speak with you."

Riku turned to look at Kairi, whom was half way out the door. She looked back.

"In private."

Kairi shut the door and left the two alone.

* * *

**Decided to focus more on the Kingdom Hearts cast this chapter. I wanted to have a sort of development without rushing in to who-knows-what. Anyway, will probably focus on the main character next chapter since I have a two chapters lined up that could be placed in either order and that I need to elaborate more on. : ) Hope you guys have a great day!**


	3. Chapter 2: New Beginnings

The girl from the awful nightmare rolled over as she came out of the dream. She hoped it was a dream; it seemed all too real for her. The feeling of being sore racked her body along with a heavy feeling weighted on her chest as she struggled to breathe.

"What?" her eyes fluttered open only to peer straight into two yellow orbs with black surrounding them. It took her a second to register what she was staring at, until the orbs moved over as the head they were attached to began to twitch.

The teen gasped before swinging her arm at the creature, effectively knocking off balance enough for it to fall onto the floor beside her.

She continued to vocalize her fear in short spasms as she got a better look at the thing that had come so close to her.

It was short in stature, but resembled a human figure, like a child. It was pitch black with antennae-feeler objects and had an eerie set of glowing yellow eyes.

And it was coming back to her.

She continued to back up slowly as the shadowy figure began to regain its sense of movement. It then appeared to sink into the floor, effectively becoming flat before making up the short distance that was between them, and then rising again only to lift a clawed hand and swinging at her.

"Whoa!" the girl turned around and began to sprint down the hall she had woken up in. The hall was seemingly narrow and lined with pipes and a metal floor that made short metallic banging sounds as her feet pounded on them. _What was that thing?! Where did it-_

She turned a corner to see the hall split into two directions and stopped for a brief second to consider which way.

_That thing's going to be here any second! I've got to think, come on!_

That's when she looked down and saw not one, but _three_ of the beings in front of her. She took a step back before recoiling to the pain in her left leg; turning her head, she could see the original creature with small amounts of red coloring its smoky claws. It brought the claw to its face like it was sniffing or looking at it. The hand was lined with what appeared to be smoke drifting off of it. Apparently it didn't find what it was looking for because it slashed at her again, only this time she turned to the left and bolted down that hallway.

She could hear her heart pounding in her ears as pain began to seer again into her left calf. Not looking down, she tried to maintain her speed as the shadows were surely gaining from behind. She could see another intersection coming up and, without thinking, slammed her foot into the metal hard to make the right turn.

She rounded another corner before panning her head to look behind herself. Nothing this time, just to be safe though, she continued a jogging pace until she came around another corner. Only this time it was worse.

Instead of sweet salvation from this growing horde of shadow denizens there were taller and more humanistic versions of them. They seemed to be consumed with twitching and moving around with no purpose until she made a sharp intake of air. Some slowly, others lightning quick, panned their heads toward the sound and fixated their luminescent piercing eyes on her.

That's when the words, I'm going to die, etched themselves into her brain. Instead, she said, "Great." In a nearly horrified manner before turning around to run into what felt like a brick wall that barely moved an inch, knocking her to the ground.

She looked up and saw, not a brick wall, but a man clad in some guard-esque uniform. He didn't look down at her, but she could see the striking blue eyes and red hair instantly. What caught her attention the most, though, was an oversized sword that looked like the main centered blade was cut out, only leaving one half of the thick border as the blade.

He stepped over her and placed himself between her and the growing number of monsters.

"Go!" He shouted as he raised his weapon, but the teen didn't need to hear it twice. She scrambled to her feet and pushed off the ground just an ear deafening 'WHAM' rocked the floor and everything on. Back to the floor she went just as another grunt signaled the oncoming of another swing. Instead of running, this time she curled over in a ball and covered her face since she kept losing her balance while on her feet.

WHAM!

Another shockwave roared by, her ears now ringing like a continuous cymbal, but this time, the shockwave didn't knock her onto her side, but instead flew around her.

She took her hands off her face to see something shielding her from the blast.

"Come with me, hurry." She turned to see another man, his arm holding firm to a bar on the inside of the shield that had protected her. His voice didn't sound completely urgent, more like obligation.

When she didn't respond, he nudged her with the inside of the shield. "You heard him, now go!" his voice became heavy with irritation before they both got up and ran down a series of hallways down to another room. By now the noises were growing weaker and weaker until they couldn't be heard at all and the rest of it seemed a blur until the man begins to question her within another room.

"Aren't you going to even answer me?" The thin blonde-haired man was wearing a white lab coat with an ascot and he didn't seem in the mood to mess around.

"Huh? What?" the teen said after coming back to reality with the situation. She winced as the adrenaline in her system began to wear off and the soreness from before, along with the new burning sensation in her left calf, began to root themselves deeply into her muscles.

The man sighed and put a hand to his head. "Just sit down."

She did so while he continued to stand.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

The teen tried to recall her moments prior to waking up in the hall while surveying the room they were in. There was a window across from her and over to the left, along with shelves and dozens upon dozens of books. The weather, as seen from the window, looked really grey and the view was a bit distorted as was when rain was falling. She looked around again and saw a work desk and several portraits of what appeared to be other scientists.

It was then that it registered that she remembered nothing. Absolutely unequivocally _nothing_.

_What's my name? Who am I?!_ her eyes searched the floor as if she could find her memories there, but in reality, she was beginning to freak out.

"Well?"

"Oh, um…" she rubbed near the burning feeling on her skin, hoping it could be rubbed off, but to no avail. Instead she winced in her chair and spazzed for a moment. _Get a grip! Quick being so helpless looking!_ Her thoughts buzzed.

"Well," the word came out in an almost gargled sense, throwing the scientist off. She noticed this and cleared her throat before continuing. "I don't know. I just woke up in that labyrinth of a basement." She brought her hand that she rubbed her leg with into view to see bright red fluid. Blood.

"Look," she started. "if I've trespassed or loitered or something, I'm really sorry, I have no clue what's going on right now. What were those things?" The sentences came pouring out in a delayed panic.

The man didn't yell or rant, but was rather interested. "You don't remember anything? Nothing at all?"

She shook her head absent mindedly.

"What about your name?" he inquired.

She shook it again.

"Well, first thing's first, you need a name." he said just as the door burst open with the red haired man from before. The scientist smirked. "Are they all gone?"

The well built man shut the door and nodded. "They must've come in after her." He looked straight towards her. "The Heartless don't normally come in here otherwise."

"We should probably start with introducing ourselves," the scientist looked to her again. "My name is Even, and my acquaintance here," he pointed to the man, "is Aeleus."

"Even and Aeleus." She nodded.

"Now then Aeleus, I was just addressing the fact that our intruder here needs a name."

She winced at the word intruder. This wasn't the way to make a good first impression.

"She doesn't have one?" Despite it being a question, his face didn't express it.

Even shook his head and began to explain briefly what had occured in the moments he was fighting the...what did he say? Were they called Heartless?

As Even explained to Aeleus, two more men, one much closer to her own age and the other around Even and Aeleus' age, came in. They were also introduced as Ienzo and Dilan, respectively.

Unlike the previous men, Ienzo extended a hand to her. She smiled before promptly grasping hold it and shaking it firmly, but no sooner than when she had done that did the strangest thing occur.

Instantly, the whole room melted away and images began flashing in front of her. Images of this young man, whom had grayish-blue hair, soared by her at tremendous speeds, all the while she was grasping all that was happening around her and she was able to decipher them, to a degree. At one moment, she could see this boy with nearly identical hair and eyes going through a courtyard and the next, her vision shifted as if seeing through another's eyes at something else. She briefly saw another young teen come as these blue creatures surrounded the viewer only to have the young teen utterly destroy the creatures and ask to see if the viewer was ok.

That was another thing. Sounds could be heard as well as what could only be described highs and lows in personality. These could be felt. Suddenly the vision shifted upward to see Even rushing over. Even muttered some sort of apology and how the boy was without any parents before thanking the older boy and taking the viewer back to the castle.

The visions shifted again, as if fast forwarding, and then extreme pain in her chest could be felt. She, seeing through the viewer's eyes, fell down onto the ground with Even before everything going black.

Again, a vision shift to what was now a series of people wearing black coats. She didn't quite understand what was happening as these visions streaked through until one of the last ones consisted of being what could only be described as being destroyed. A silver haired boy with a strange suit began to drain all power and essence as a red haired man in a black coat egged him on.

Suddenly, she was back in the room, still clutching Ienzo's hand, only now his face was one of shock and almost one of horror.

The teen ripped her hand from Ienzo's and began clutching at her heart as a maelstrom of emotions tore into her. She felt frustration, confusion, and fear, but also felt happiness and laughter. Her body didn't know whether to cry or to smile so instead she fell from the chair and began to cry out in confusion with each breath.

_What was that?!_ She could barely even retrieve her own thoughts and emotions let alone what she just experienced.

Ienzo was almost the same way, only that he clutched the desk behind him and gasped before looking back to the others.

"What in the world?" he was able to convey what she could not.

"What's the matter?" Even crossed his arms.

Ienzo was trying to grasp the situation.

"I just had the biggest moment of déjà vu." He shook his head.

The teen continued to lay on the floor until Aeleus came and was about to place her back in the chair.

Fearing this would lead to another mind blowing attack on her psyche, she waved her arms frantically and scooted back.

"And what's wrong with you?" he asked.

"Memories," she muttered. Ienzo saw it too and he called it déjà vu. _What I just saw…was it Ienzo's memories? _

"I saw someone else's memories?" she struggled back to her feet and held onto the chair as the others looked at each other, not sure of what to think or say.

* * *

**Hey guys! I want to thank you so much for the views and feedback! It's helps a lot and I'm just glad that you guys like it : ) Now something else, yes, her name hasn't been mentioned yet, and yes, it can get annoying with how many times I use the words, "she, teen, girl." and all that jazz. I'm sorry. I just didn't feel like it was the right time for her name, but rest assured, next you see her she will.**

**So yes, I hope you guys enjoyed the first little instance of our heroine's ability to see into another's memories and the chapter too! Again, thanks so much for your feedback and even giving your time to read the story. I hope you guys have a good one; should have the next chapter up soon! : )**


	4. Chapter 3: A New Order and A New Name

Riku stood before Master Yen Sid, not knowing why he was called to stay behind while the others went about their business.

"Something the matter, Master?" Riku inquired respectfully.

Yen Sid went back to his seat and placed his hands back into his lap.

"Riku," he began. "you and Kairi know Sora more than I do, but from what I can tell, he is kind young man."

Riku nodded. "Yeah, we've all been best friends for," Riku stopped briefly and chuckled. "for as long as I can remember."

Yen Sid's face showed the hint of a smile but it quickly faded. "What I'm trying to convey is that you know Sora's character much better than I do, and as such, you will probably be able to better interpret his actions."

"Actions?"

"Yes, now Riku," the Master sighed. "Could you tell me now where Sora is? Do you know of his whereabouts?"

The older teen paused before scratching the back of his head.

"Uh, actually, I thought he was investigating other worlds to further his training. You know, making sure that Organization XIII wasn't lingering around looking for a thirteenth vessel?"

Yen Sid didn't say anything. Sora's best friend didn't like where this was going.

"Master? Do you know something I don't? What are you getting at?" He furrowed his brow.

"I have reason to believe that Sora has not been completely honest with me and now with you, for that matter." He raised a hand. "I had at first let Sora go about his way. He took his keyblade and created a portal of sorts to travel to the next world as you both have done before. When I tried to pinpoint his location with a spell," The wizard swirled his hand around the table and gathered small clouds that had appeared out of the air. They converged into a sphere before moving into a circular patter that surrounded a clear image. It was almost like looking into a puddle of water.

The young keyblade master leaned forward to stare into the clear glassy view, only to have the clouds cover the view again before it completely dissipated all together.

"I'm gonna go out a limb and say you couldn't locate him." Riku placed a hand on his hip.

"I'm afraid so." He sighed. "Wherever Sora has been going to lately, it would appear that he does not want us knowing about it quite yet, if ever."

He didn't know why, but these accusations about one of his closest friends was starting to make the young man ball his fists in anger. How could he say those things about Sora? He's a _good_ guy; Riku and Kairi knew that more than anyone, but for some reason, Riku couldn't put his frustrations into words. Master Yen Sid words did hold truth to them; Sora had been lying. Just what about was yet to be seen.

"No offense, Master, but what do you want me to do?"

"Find Sora, if at all possible, or wait for him to return. If you see him before I do, just fill him in on what we discussed about that spark." He put his fingers together. "When he does return, do try to keep an eye on him."

_What?_ _Trying to find the 'spark' is one thing, but spying on his friend?_ The now seventeen-year olds' mind grinded to a halt and despite his skill in hiding his emotions, he could tell that Yen Sid had noticed his change in mood. Riku took a deep breath and decided to let it go. If he could just stick around with Sora then it wouldn't be that hard. But still, spy on Sora? Did the Master not trust him at all?

Despite the resentment towards the Master's lack of trust; Riku bowed his head.

"Yes, Master, but just remember: he's not as weak as you think."

Suddenly Yen Sid's stoic face showed a flash of shock that could be seen just below the surface. Riku didn't know why, but he was kind of glad that he said that.

"Riku,"

"Yes, sir?" He was about to walk out the door.

The Master smiled, "You have been a Keyblade Master for nearly three months; there is no need for you to call me Master anymore."

"Oh, yes, Ma-" Riku caught himself quickly before correcting himself. "Of course, Yen Sid." It felt weird calling a man much older than himself by his name instead of a title; nevertheless, the boy nodded and closed the door behind him while leaving Yen Sid to his thoughts.

Sora slipped into the world that admittedly gave him nightmares. This world, The World That Never Was, ended up ensnaring him in the sleeping worlds.

The sixteen-year old shivered slightly as he walked amongst toppled building debris in the alley ways. He could remember all the torture, both physical and psychological, as he trudged through shadows and out into the eerie light that came from the buildings that still stood.

He constantly pondered just who all those people were he saw in his dream. Those people that Xigbar claimed were all in his head to begin with. He briefly remembered Kairi and Riku with longer hair turning around and becoming different people and calling him by a different name: Ven. The girl, or rather young woman, seemed familiar, but the other one who had taken Riku's place. The young man…who was he? Yes, he looked familiar too, but it didn't stick out as much in his memory.

Sora could hear the sound of his footsteps as he neared his destination. One of the tallest buildings that was still standing in the center of the world; it was here he fought Roxas and nearly faced off with Xigbar and Young Xehanort.

He was approaching the building when another thought came to him about another girl in his dream. After Namine ran off, she had turned into another girl with black hair that resembled a younger Kairi, not to mention he had come face to face with his other: Roxas.

"Ugh, sometimes I wonder why life has to be so complicated." Sora rested his hands behind his head and came to the desired spot. The neon glow from the building showered over the clearing and Sora took a seat on a broken piece of building, waiting.

It took longer than usual, about ten minutes, but he finally began to feel this strange emotion swaying inside him. Soon enough, a see through like figure flowed out of Sora's body and took a seat on a piece of debris across from him. He smiled at the figure and sighed.

"It's good to see you again. I thought maybe you could help me with something."

"Well, I'm with you all the time." The figure replied almost cocky. "If you really want advice, you should just say so." He crossed his arms.

Sora chuckled. "Yeah, but for whatever reason, it's just easier to talk to you here."

The figure relented. "Yeah, yeah, ok, I see. So what do you want to talk about?"

"I thought you would already know since you're my Nobody, Roxas." Sora smiled.

"Are you crazy? I don't want to try that again!"

Even crossed his arms and shook his head.

"If you really expect me to believe this ability you have then you should at least be willing to try it again."

Even was most definitely a man of science. The way he went about figuring out what this new found ability's capabilities were put him right back into his field of expertise which, of course, was being a scientist.

"Well can, can you at least give me a moment." She took a deep breath. "Seeing someone else's whole life flash before your eyes isn't exactly something you can prepare for lightly."

Even rolled his eyes, but he relented. "Fine, I'm sure we can come up with a name for you in the mean time."

"It should be something we all agree on." Dilan put in.

The teen hardly knew this guy, but seemed as if this was out of character.

_Name me?_ She thought. _They don't even know me! What am I, a pet?!_

She didn't even speak as the men contemplated names. This was beyond awkward, funny, but awkward.

"Oh, we could call her Solus." Ienzo presented his idea while picking up a book from the shelf.

"Excuse me?" You see, the girl had thought he said, 'soul less' which greatly disturbed her. "Soul less?"

Everyone else looked at Ienzo with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, come on, _Solus_, it's the Latin word for alone."

"Well isn't that inspiring." Dilan murmured.

"I'm just throwing ideas here." Ienzo raised his arms in defense.

The teen sighed and stared out the window again at the falling rain. She folded her arms and trudged toward it until she could see another girl in the glass. It was her, naturally, and to her surprise she looked exactly like the young woman in the stained glass mural. It must've been her; all the facial features matched the picture. It was only her clothes that didn't match, in fact, she was wearing kakis and a brown sweater. It looked more like she was getting ready to go to school or church or something. She brushed her pants and then could see the rip in her left pant leg that still burned with dark aura. She bit into her lip and looked back up. She would tell the others in a moment, but for now, she just stared out into ravine that stretched below the building she was in.

She could now see vaguely that she had sparkling green eyes. That was nice. She liked the color green.

She smiled softly and looked out again, seeing the water gather in the air before joining the ground. Come to think of it, it would seem that she liked rain.

_The more I can remember about my life before, the better._ She thought.

That's when a light bulb went off in her head.

"I got it," she turned back to the men, who had now almost given up after Ienzo insisted on more Latin names. "How about Raine?"

They glanced back at each other. They didn't seem convinced.

"You know? Like with an 'e' on the end?" she smiled awkwardly.

"I can get behind that." Dilan concurred. (Okay, just a quick note here. How about whenever I try to type Dilan's name, I nearly always spell Dialga XD lol, too much pokemon)

Without waiting for another word, Even intervened.

"That's good." He nodded. "Now, Raine," he nearly bowed his head. "Would you kindly demonstrate this ability again?"

Raine's mouth went dry. She didn't want to feel all that pain and emotion again, but maybe she could learn to control it in due time. It was worth a shot.

"Yes sir," she acknowledged their seniority over her. "Just be aware that I don't really know what to do. It just sort of happened what I touched Ienzo."

"I could see it too." The young man agreed. "It was more like déjà vu though; you probably saw it on a much grander scale."

"Shall we begin?" Even extended his hand while the others watched.

A surge of assurance and bravery swept through her.

_Where did that come from?_

It felt good not to feel wimpy anymore.

"Let's do it." She half smiled.

* * *

**Yeah, again, more of character development :/ **

**I want to create a story that's both enjoyable and somewhat plausible in the Kingdom Hearts Universe (as wierd as that may sound XD lol) But anyway, if any of you readers out there have any contructive criticism, I'd gladly take some. I just want ya'll to enjoy the story and be able to feel as if you're really going on an adventure.**

**Before this gets any more 'wordy' though, I hope you enjoyed this chapter : ) Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it!**


	5. Chapter 4: New Set Boundaries

"Is that all you wanted to know?" Roxas leaned back on the debris. He seemed a bit more relaxed this time around in the World that Never Was.

Sora took the information into account and shrugged a shoulder. "Guess so."

Roxas noticed the lack of enthusiasm this time around with Sora's demeanor.

"Uh, Sora, you feeling all right?" Roxas waved a hand.

"Hmm?" Sora looked up. "Yeah, I guess so."

There was a pause before Sora spoke again. "Roxas," the nobody gathered his focus. "There has to be a way to free you."

Roxas took a quick breath before bout of deathly silence crept in. The stillness of just how bleak and quiet this world was seemed to flood Roxas' senses. It was almost like dealing with a small bit of paranoia. For a moment, you don't have any idea of what's going on and feel as if the quiet will take you over.

"Sora," Roxas muttered. As much as he felt crestfallen at admitting it- "I'm you; a different part of you."

"No, Roxas, I meant what I said back in the dreams. You're you; we're not quite the same." His face fidgeted with confusion. "I mean, you are me, my nobody I mean, but you deserve to be your own person." Sora blinked before furrowing his brow. "It's difficult to explain…" he tentatively lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head while glancing downwards.

"I get it, but I meant what I said too; it really has to be you." Roxas gave a smug smile. "But for the meantime, I'm you and you're going to have to deal with that for now."

Sora didn't smile; however, he merely looked up with a emotion lacking face. "I mean it. The darkness," he clenched his fist, "I don't want you falling into it forever because of a mistake I made."

Roxas could now see the severity of the damage. "Sora, come on, your heart is full of light. It's silly to think those tricks would ever work on you."

"But they did! I almost lost my heart to darkness. The fatigue, the confusion, the pain…they brought me close to being pitted against my friends; people I care about." He slammed his fist down onto his leg. "The thought of losing the King, Donald and Goofy, Riku," his voice began to fall away, "Kairi."

"Sora!" Roxas shouted before delivering a brutal slap to his original self's face. Sora fell back in both the force of the hit and the surprise that it actually hurt.

"Hey, that hurt!" Sora looked shocked as he got up off his seat to dust himself off. He put a hand to his cheek. "That actually hurt."

Roxas looked just as surprised as Sora. "I thought my hand would just phase through you!"

"Well, it didn't." Sora sat back down onto the debris. "Thank anyway." He said somewhat grudgingly before it fell away.

"Uh, ok," Roxas shook his head, his spiky hair wavering, "getting serious again; you're not going to fall into darkness. I don't want to lose Namine like you don't want to lose Kairi."

Sora lifted an eyebrow. That's right: Roxas would lose someone too if Sora fell away into the abyss.

Before Sora could say anything, Roxas' form began to turn see through again and sway from left to right while distorting.

"It looks like we don't have much time." Sora said somberly.

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Will you stop being such a downer? Geez you're worse than Saix was!"

"Whaaat?!" Sora said flabbergasted. Roxas laughed and looked over his wavering form.

"Yeah, it's almost time for me to go, but before I do," he stood off of the debris. "You do know that you can talk to me anytime, right?"

Sora was about to speak when Roxas continued. "I try to talk to you sometimes, but you're either side tracked or you just can't hear me." He shrugged and looked up. "Either way, you may want to help others, Sora, but it won't help unless you can help yourself." He looked back down, one hand on his hip, the other dangling freely. "If you focus and search down deep enough, you'll find me and you won't have to keep coming back here to chat."

Sora got up stuck out his hand, sure that Roxas could grasp it and he did.

"No problem, I'll do that." Sora smiled for the first time in the latter of the conversation.

"Seriously, you don't need to keep coming back here," the key of destiny chuckled, "This place, let alone my memories of it, is depressing."

Sora's eyes opened wide. He hadn't even realized what these trips were doing to Roxas in terms of reminding him of a troubled past.

"Say, 'hi' to the others for me, or us, I guess." Roxas laughed before fading away into a series of lights that gathered to Sora's body.

"Will do." The keyblade wielder placed a hand on his chest where the light had entered.

High above Sora, in the shadows of buildings that hadn't been destroyed, stood another being.

"It won't be long now…" He trudged forward into a partial light from the building's neon signs, his silver hair resting on his shoulders and yellow-amber eyes smoldering like resonating candle flames. Xemnas watched as Sora pulled a star shaped device. The Comet Shard.

Sora lifted the deep purple device with a small white tail into the air before he was enveloped into the light. It shot off like a firework; straight into the air before bursting into one focused flash and disappearing into the sky.

The Comet Shard was an improved piece of the Star Shard, another magical device that transported the user to different worlds. While the Star Shard only allowed travel between worlds in the realm of light, the Comet Shard went to nearly all worlds, the light, the dark, as well as the border worlds. The piece of work also brought about more accuracy in which transporting the user to the destination they desired.

Xemnas smiled as the light faded. "He can feel it already."

The Nobody summoned a dark corridor before walking into it. The black swirling abyss enveloped him as he stepped into another world.

The sky was dark as well as the surrounding area. Night had fallen over this place as well; the cover of night was a welcome sight. It was very close in terms of darkness and every world experienced it.

The sound of waves lapping of against the shoreline met the Superior's ears. The only sound that proceeded without end into the night and day was this one; the birds and people had all retreated to their homes. No artificial light prevailed, only the light of the moon and the stars, no – the worlds above graced the island with their beacons.

Xemnas stood by the Paopu tree and saw that he was amongst the last to arrive at the predestined location. Around him stood the remaining twelve members in their new organization: The New Organization XIII.

Ansem, the seeker of darkness, his arms folded as the metal pieces on his cloak clinked together. He didn't give more than a serious look to his counterpart, Xemnas. It was his usual expression.

The Younger Xehanort pulled his hood down. It was strange to see such a dark presence in a young man, but then again, that group of light has seen darker days. The young one merely gave a side grin as Xemnas surveyed the rest.

Xigbar, he looked the same, as did Saix, but the others did not feel the notion to pull down their hoods.

"I see our final guest has arrived," the aged voice crackled with amusement. It was the Master. The dark master that had started it all: Master Xehanort. "With that we can begin." His fingers were coming close to clutching together, but they wouldn't make a fist.

"With our thirteen member quota now complete we can now go into our," he cleared his throat, "next phase of development." He smiled in a way that would make anyone of the light shudder. "It's only a matter of when we can proceed."

"Why don't we proceed now?" It was less of a question and more of a complaint. It was flat and dripping with satire.

"Patience, Vanitus," he smiled. "We don't have the requirements to fit our traveling members," he nodded to him, "yourself included."

The cloaked member said nothing; his face remained hidden as well.

"That brings up a new topic: when can you all descend amongst the worlds as you wish." He extended an arm out for the members to survey the island they rested on. "Your bodies are still not complete, as in, your time actually rests in the past. But have no worries, it is only the world of light that evades you. You may still pass through the border and darker worlds just as you are now." He bent down on his knee.

"This all begun because this world was too small," he wriggled his gloved hand through the loose sand. "What presence decided to play a cruel and sick joke by placing me here, which was all too small for one who planned to go so far in life." He clutched a fist full of sand and rose again. "Thanks to myself, I was able to plan ahead and use this tiny world to my advantage."

He grinned again. "This border world and many others: this was the start of it all. On ordinary terms, we could go ahead and further our plan and gather the seven Princesses of Heart, but we aren't on ordinary terms, are we?" He turned his back to the Organization. "Besides, that would be boring anyway."

"We can't gather the seven because they remain in the world of light." Saix's voice was dead in tone.

"Precisely. They are off limits for now, but," he turned around and let the sand be carried away by the wind, "that just makes things more interesting now, doesn't it?" He chuckled slightly.

"Once they find out, though, we'll reach a stalemate." Another cloaked member spoke up. "In order to avoid a keyblade war, all they would have to do is remain in the realm of light and keep clear of us."

"They don't know that we can't come into the world of light." Vanitas answered him. "They're too busy trying to get their lights together anyway. They think that if they wait too long that we'll go after those prissy princesses." He folded his arms.

"Vanitas is correct. Besides," the Master's voice went down an octave. "We would just start destroying other worlds anyway." He put his foot down. "We could start with this one." He sneered in a malicious tone. "I can dwell in the light now that I'm complete, but I don't plan doing all of this by myself. I've already brought the plan this far.

"For now, though, I think we can wrap up this discussion –

A off set wavelength in the air reached the group. Each member that was a definite part from Xehanort looked up into the sky: The Master himself, Ansem, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort. A star blinked as if desperately trying to fend off the dark that seemed to grab it firmly like the sand in Xehanort's hand previously.

The Master's face came into a frown before raising an eyebrow. The star gave one last pulse of light before dimming and fading away.

Without a mention of said star, the Master looked to the other members. "Vanitas,"

"I'm on it." He spoke like a kid being nagged by his parents before enveloping himself in a corridor in a second.

"Free reign for now, other than that, I have nothing else to say to you; meeting adjourned." With that, the darkness circled and enveloped him too as did the others.

The meeting was over, but the chaos had yet to begin.

* * *

Raine placed her fingers around Even's and tried to repeat the action that happened when she had touched Iezno, all of the attempts resulted the same: nothing. They had stopped briefly when Raine commented on the searing in her calf and had done what they could to remedy it. There wasn't much though, the injury, despite being from a small heartless, contained enough dark aura to continue its stinging sensation, even after addressing it properly.

"It will most definitely leave a scar," Even said as Rain lowered her pant leg over the bandages. He took the piece of cloth he had used to try and clean out the wound; there was a bit of Raine's blood on them along with some smoldering aura.

"Much like Braig's, correct?" Dilan spoke this time.

Even quietly mulled over the thought, "Yes, like Braig's. I don't know why one scratch would affect this one so much though."

He looked out the window which was still distorted by the ongoing rain.

"Further experimentation must be undergone." He brought the piece of cloth with his gloved hand. He continued to stare out the window as he called to Ienzo. "Ienzo,"

"Yes?" The younger and former apprentice looked up from his book that he had picked up off the shelf when the failed attempts began to mount.

"Show our guest to her sleeping quarters." He said while examining the bloodied cloth again.

Raine was surprised by the scientists' hospitality, but was most appreciative. She had only met these people, not only that, but she had brought about some trouble with these heartless things. _I'll have to find out about those later,_ she thought. In the meantime, however, she opened her mouth to answer.

"Oh, uh, thank you very much, sir," she hastily nodded. "If it's too much trouble though I can always-

"Ienzo?" Even called back when he didn't answer his initial demand.

"Yes," He opened the door and nodded, "This way."

Raine understood that this was a gesture that Even didn't want to argue with her and left the room with Ienzo. He closed the door behind her and began to lead her through the large castle.

Suddenly Raine began to ponder the questionable circumstances of the situation. She briefly wondered if staying in a castle with four men that she didn't know was a good idea. A slight twitch became apparent in her left eyebrow. _This could get awkward; maybe I shouldn't have accepted his offer so quickly-_

"So, uh, what do you guys do here?" Raine said to get her mind off its reigning path.

Ienzo continued walking and leading her down various corridors, as if unsure how to talk to her.

"Your friend looked like a scientist," she noted Ienzo's white lab coat, "You do to, to some degree."

He still didn't answer and Raine raised her previously twitchy eyebrow.

"You not sure how to talk to girls, Ienzo?" she said without trying to sound smug, but it didn't work too well. She paused. First that surge of bravery out of nowhere and now this? Who was she before?

"On the contrary I've had, er, mixed results in that area." He shot back without skipping a beat.

Was it something from his memories? Raine picked her brain for Ienzo's memories that she had seen earlier pertaining to these 'mixed results'. The only thought that would come to mind though, was an image of a girl with dark blonde hair and green eyes. A name floated around and seemed to taunt her before she pegged it.

"You mean Larxene?"

Ienzo stopped at a cross road in the corridor and turned to meet her with a serious look on his face. "How? How do you know this?" his face became screwed up as he furrowed his brow further. "Who are you anyway?"

Raine didn't recoil timidly like earlier with the others. Instead she just looked down at her feet before answering. "I saw into your memories, remember?" she shifted her weight from one leg to the other. "And well…" it felt a bit awkward talking to someone and sharing their own personal information without knowing them. What was the word? Invasive, it felt invasive.

"While I can't remember or even begin to understand all that I saw, I do have the notion that she was a bit intimidating." She bit her lip and spoke again. "I don't know who I am, only that I'm here, and that bugs me. How is it that I can see into your memories but not remember mine?"

Ienzo looked her over with a casual glance before apparently being satisfied by her answer and began to lead her down the corridors again.

"Must be some kind of sick joke," Ienzo answered without looking at her.

"Yeah, that's a good way of describing it." Raine said dejectedly.

"You're right by the way," He spoke up, "Larxene was her name." He seemed to shudder. "Ugh, that one. She was like a ticking time bomb just ready for you to say the wrong words and flip the switch." He gestured his finger like flicking a switch on.

"What?" Raine was taken aback. Maybe her subconscious was right about second thoughts on staying here. "Flip the switch?"

"Sorry, just some stuff picked up from a while ago." He seemed to grasp the suggestiveness of what he said, "Pushing her buttons, same difference."

Raine was still a bit on edge but relaxed her guard a bit.

"I tried to keep my distance from her when I could. Ugh, I couldn't stand her."

"Where is she now?" She asked.

"Gone." He answered simply and Raine decided that that story was for another day; that is, if she even decided to stay here.

"Well, here are your quarters, Ms. Raine." They finally came to a door. "There's a lavatory down the hall to the left, you can't miss it. We'll be on the floor below this one so if you need something just let us know."

_Problem is I don't know if I can get to the lower floor in this labyrinth of a castle_

He turned to walk away when Raine called after him.

"Ienzo?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you and your friends for letting me stay here," she said casually but with gratitude. "I hope I don't run you guys too ragged." She chuckled at her ill attempted joke, but Ienzo smiled back.

"Nonsense, it wouldn't be a good idea to send you out there without knowing what you're getting into anyway."

Raine's expression read that of surprise and perturbed. He smiled and chuckled at his own joke. At least she hoped it was a joke.

"Your welcome, by the way." He nodded. "You should probably get some rest." And with that he walked down the corridor they had come.

Raine waited until his footsteps echoed and eventually faded into silence. She opened her door to the small room. A cot rested near the window and a work desk was placed near a trash bin filled with crumpled up pieces of paper. The walls were cluttered with sketches and graphs, but Raine just made her way to the cot.

The cot was still made, but there was a layer of dust over it. She beat if off, as well as the pillow before sitting on top of the covers. They were a grayish color and made of a soft material. They seemed to be one bit of normalcy in this mixed up reality.

She looked into the window and could her partial reflection again. This time, she caught note of the flat heart shaped piece that hung from a chain around her neck. How did she not notice it before? Maybe she did and had forgotten. Either way, the heart shaped piece reflected almost like a mirror. It was just like the necklace she was wearing in that stained glass representation of herself.

Putting all of these questions aside, she pushed herself under the covers and tried to let sleep take her in.

* * *

**Hey guys! Long time, no see right? After finishing our senior play, getting through waterfalls of homework, and battling a dangerous case of writer's block, I'm back. Sorry about all of that! I made the chapter longer for you guys though, so all is forgiven, right...? -_-' jk lol I'll try to keep a more steady update stream. Thank you guys so much for reading and for those who have been reviewing, thank you very much for that too. It's a real nice encouragement. Even for those of you who don't review, thank you for reading anyway, it's very nice of all of you.**

**I digress-again-I hope to see you all soon!**


	6. Chapter 5: Enter the Darkness

**Ok...so not a lot of time to type here, but I just want to quickly thank those who have reviewed, and to anyone who has or is reading this. I hope you like it. I'm going to try out a little mechanic here with music. You'll know when you see it : ) Let me know what you think if you have time. Thank you guys again for reading, hope you have good one!**

* * *

Sora flew through at a breakneck pace as the Comet Shard continued to direct him towards the Mysterious Tower.

"Whoo-hoo!" Sora whooped and laughed as the wind brushed his hair back. "This is awesome!" His hand held constant to the device that compelled him. "Riku and Kairi, here I come!" Sora's previous melancholy attitude flew out into the space vacuum that he traveled through. The positive ambition that was the norm for Sora coursed through his body as a small light blinked ahead.

"So Donald and Goofy can go to Twilight Town," Riku's voice echoed as the end of the vacuum loomed.

"All right!" Sora flew and positioned himself for a landing as he approached the light. The thin barrier that separated the world from the Lanes in Between developed just as Sora extended his hand. The barrier warped and broke, much like the tension of the surface of water. Light began to expel from the barrier and Sora opened his eyes to find himself on his feet at the Mysterious Tower.

"Sorry I'm late, guys!" Sora scratched his head. "Did I miss anything?"

"I'm not gonna bother," Lea turned around and waved a hand. "I'll see ya when I see ya."

"Wha? Where're ya going, Lea?" Sora tilted his head at the sudden leave of absence.

"I'm going back to Radiant Garden; you guys can come when you're ready." He looked back just as a dark corridor developed in front of him. "It looks like you've got some catching up to do." He snickered before being enveloped by the swirling mass of purple and black.

"So…what did I miss?" Sora smiled as Donald face palmed.

"Don't you ever listen?" Donald quacked as he came and grasped Sora's ear while proceeding to give a lecture on punctuality.

"You sure picked a winner, Kairi." Riku said, crossing his arms.

Kairi's face flushed with red as Riku playfully placed a hand on her shoulder as he walked past.

"All right, come on," he pushed Donald off of Sora, "Let's get this smiling thing over with." He waved as he took a seat inside the Gummi Ship; which had been called prior to Sora's entrance.

Kairi snapped out of her embarrassed state and grabbed Sora by the collar before boarding.

"Now remember guys," Goofy sat at the wheel, "Lots of smiling fa-

Donald pulled Goofy out of the seat and Goofy fell comically to the ground.

"I told you, _I'm_ flying this thing." He grasped the controls, "Last time you steered this thing we end up being eaten by a whale!" Donald grabbed an intercom piece and shouted into it, "REMEMBER TO SMILE!" before throwing it back up into the ceiling.

The gang covered their ears and was more in a state of shock than one of smiles.

"Good times," Sora gave a cheap chuckle. "Again, does anyone want to fill me in on what's going on here?"

"Oh, I will. We can talk all about it on the way to Radiant Garden." Kairi smiled and held Sora's hand with tender care. "Donald and Goofy are going to drop us off while they go and check out Twilight Town."

"Figured it would be better for us to finally have a laid back mission, together for that matter." Riku nodded. "We haven't seen much of each other lately since Yen Sid's been training you and Kairi."

"Maybe he'll let us go home for some R&R." Kairi laid her head back on the seat as the ship took flight.

"Are you kidding? Yen Sid give us R&R?" Sora blurted while Riku and Kairi sighed in the ridiculousness of the previous statement. "That's like asking him to shave off his beard!"

Suddenly the back seat was in an uproar as the three laughed like they used to on the beach before Sora abruptly stopped.

"I _really_ hope he didn't hear that." Sora clenched his seat.

"We're approaching the end of the realm and the doors are closed," Kairi giggled. "He didn't hear you."

"He's Yen Sid." Sora pointed his hands deliberately. "He hears everything." He whispered before ducking away from the window.

"Oh, come on," Kairi pushed his shoulder, "There is-

"No, Sora's probably right." Riku said bluntly with his hands behind his head.

The Gummi Ship warped through the fragile barrier of the world while Sora looked haphazardly out the window and Kairi began to explain what had happened. Riku just watched the stars pass outside the window while seeing his reflection look back at him.

_Maybe we'll find that light_, he thought. _Or maybe we'll find ourselves in whole other heap of trouble_

* * *

Raine sat straight up out of bed just as another bolt of lightning streaked across the sky followed by a deafening roar of thunder.

It took her a brief moment to realize just how quickly she was breathing and a moment longer to calm down.

"Nightmare, just a nightmare…" Raine brought her knees to her chest and pressed her chin onto them. "Nothing more, nothing less; dreams filled with darkness." She proceeded to breathe through her nose before stepping off of the bed. The prickly wool substance that made up the rug beneath her feet made a soft crunch as her weight barred down onto it.

_I need calm down; maybe go for a walk_, Raine thought as her mind began to slow its panicked actions.

She proceeded to put on her shoes and began to walk gingerly down the many corridors that the castle held within, careful not to wake the other inhabitants. It was difficult at first, with many of the lights dimmed or turned off entirely to conserve energy for the rooms that needed it most. Raine's eyes became adjusted to the dim and eerie lighting soon enough and she crept through the halls with ease with little less than a tap on the tiled floor.

By the time that Raine happened to come up upon an exit to the outside, the turbulent storm had downgraded to an intermediate downpour with a shot of lighting here and there.

"Ah, fresh air," Raine said more in an exasperated sigh, rather than one in complete relief. "I'll take it." She smiled as she made her way through the gateway to a new world. The rain reached through the sweater to give an icy bite to her arms and shoulders, but she didn't care, it was just good to be outside.

Raine walked along pathways with slight sheltering that consisted of rocks that jutted out from the crevices above. Though it was dark and new to her, some sort of rush of excitement pulsed through her veins. It made her smile even more as she continued to ascend up the broken and clattered stairways up to what appeared to be a bailey.

It overlooked the crevices that she had just walked up through, even with the clouds blocking out the moon, the interval flashes of lightning showed plenty of barren and lifeless terrain.

She squinted and looked out even farther where, unbeknownst to her, lied the Great Maw. There was a great gaping trench so large that it looked as if something had taken a hold of the land and tore it out….what a strange and wondrous world indeed.

Raine turned over to her left and could see another way out to on top of the wall above. The doorway was dark, however, and Raine couldn't see to the other end of it. Regardless, she proceeded to make a quick jog up there.

It wasn't even halfway across the corridor leading out of the bailey that Raine stopped abruptly. Something moved.

The teen hazardously turned her left side towards the doorway to guard herself as the dark in the doorway moved _again_ and came forward. That wasn't the dark night or even the storm that caused that; it was a person.

Begin [Enter the Darkness] (I recommend the extended version)

A lighting bolt only confirmed these suspicions and fears as the light quickly flashed upon the stranger's face. The intruder's dark spiked hair showed prominently, while the dark coat he wore made many of his features undistinguishable. The one feature that instilled the most fear, though, was the deep penetrating yellow eyes that didn't seem to blink. Raine could see a quick smirk before the lightning pulled back its light of warning. The cold chill from the rain now tore into her core as Raine's heart beat wildly.

Even in the inky black, Raine was still haunted by the yellow orbs that floated in place, dimmed, but still lethal.

She had to get out of there.

The girl took a step back while fixating her eyes upon the other entity. He took two steps closer in return.

"Who are you?" Raine called out, her throat constricted.

His response was a short and cold laugh.

"You? He sends me all the way out here for someone like you? Pssh." He casually walked towards her; arms at his side.

"Can't say that I'm impressed." He made his way to where he was only about a yard (1 meter) away. "Just a scared little girl," his voice was teeming with spite.

Raine's body seemed to be frozen in place before taking note of the teen's satire rich voice. Her stiffness melted a little and she brought herself back to her side stance.

"You want to actually talk to me or are you here to make cheap observations?" This time it was her who voice sounded of aggravation.

"Oh, sorry," he said sarcastically, "Just pointing out the obvious here, but I'm sure it's nothing new to you."

"Why don't you shut your trap before I smack you over the bailey?" Raine balled her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

The teen laughed harshly again as another, less brilliant, bolt of lighting lit up the area.

"This is going to be too easy," his voice turned flat with boredom, but with a tinge a self indulgence. "I had some inane hope that you weren't a spineless chicken, but," he shrugged his shoulders, "hey, what can you do?" He flashed a grin. "At least attempt to make this enjoyable for me, will you?"

In a twist of logic, a dark aura glowed in his hand before a strange weapon flashed into his grip. It was like a sword, but with strange red gear-like attachments to it.

_Keyblade_

Raine's eye's widened as the voice protruded from the back of her mind.

_Keyblade…use it_

"Use it?" she murmured, not being able to take her eyes off the opponent's weapon.

"How?" She said inaudibly before she could hear the 'keyblade' begin to swing through the air.

_NOW!_

Raine held up a hand to block the blow when a bright light left her blind. A clash of what sounded like steel filled her ears as the delayed thunder rumbled. The teen's vision returned to see a weapon of her own in her hand.

"No way…" Raine gasped as she pulled the weapon back. The keyblade was a silver color with a polish that reflected like a mirror. The decoration around the handle was of a curved heart, while the blade itself resembled Oathkeeper's in the fact that there was a gap between two parts of metal. The teeth resembled what can only be described as broken glass, but it had a sort of elegance to it.

All of this processed within a fraction of a second as the intruder jumped back and retorted, "Hah, looks like you're not completely lifeless after all." He lunged forward and swung again.

Raine gasped and blocked again with the seemingly foreign weapon. Somehow, it felt familiar in her grip and her movements seemed recognizable as well. She must've had this weapon before losing every trace of memory she had.

"You…are…so…weak!" The intruder said in between swings that were blocked with each movement. He swung low and she dove to the left side before swinging hard with her right towards his feet. It was her turn to strike back.

The blow just missed as he stepped back to show the naivety of the move. Another upper handed swing…

Raine blocks before sliding off and swinging out with her blade as she spun into him, this time landing him just the top of his shoulder.

He grunted and shoved his elbow into her spine, knocking her off balance. Raine rushes to her feet and turns only to face the broad side of the enemy's keyblade before feeling a smack to the lower abdomen.

The blow rips into her sweater, just below her ribcage, and sends her soaring back several feet before the pain can catch up to her. She smashes into the ground and rolls over while painful gasps for air could be heard.

_What is he?_ Raine thought as she brought her free arm inward to cover the tear. She could feel something wet, but at this point she was so wet, that she couldn't tell if it was rain or blood.

The opponent simply walks over while Raine remains on the ground, her hand that still contained the keyblade, shockingly, within her grasp.

Raine can see his feet come into view as he takes one and presses it onto her right wrist.

_Ah,_ Raine cried inwardly.

He takes a moment before grinding his boot's edged heel into the inside of her wrist. This time Raine cries out for real.

"AAH, stop!" she shouted with her teeth gritted together while releasing the blade. The grinding stops and he proceeds to kick the weapon down the stairs from where she had come, the clitter clatter of the weapon ringing clearly in the rainy weather.

Raine can see his gloved hand reach down and grab the collar of her sweater before he pulls her up to her feet. For a split second, Raine thought she was being let off, but this changed when his grip quickly changes to her throat. She gasps as the grip tightens like a snake coiled around prey. She grabs the hand holding her; it was so strong, like a death grip. She gasps awkwardly for air and manages to ask the question that started this struggle, "Who are you?"

Raine thought she could see a grin, but the darkness provided little detail. She was practically eye level if not a hair shorter than he, but the eyes…malice and sick desire burned in them. She could suddenly feel the ground vanish from beneath her feet. He was lifting her off the ground! Such strength from someone who looked her age; how could he be so strong?

She kicked as much as she could while trying desperately to pry herself from his grip. Another bolt of lightning seared the sky and she saw again the bright yellow eyes, the near demonic smile, and the sheer enjoyment he was receiving.

Raine struggled for another breath of air before jutting out her hands into his face. _You just have to get him to loosen his grip; you just have to do something!_ Raine's thoughts screamed as they begged for the life giving air. She dug her fingernails into wherever she could on the opposing teens face; the second she touched his face, however, her eyes widened as she flashed through a vacuum of what she knew to be passing memories.

_It's happening again…_ She thought, but these were different. These were all dark memories and thoughts flying by her so fast that she couldn't read or interpret their mean. The tunnel swirled with black aura as a few memories slowed down enough to see them. In almost all of these, she could feel…pride? Insecurity? Anger…satisfaction in snuffing out another's life. A love for battle with purpose to destroy. What kind of creature was this?

Another image passed by…that boy! The one with the windswept blonde hair, the one from Ienzo's memories! Did this boy see him too?

Raine saw the blonde haired boy several times, all of them mentioned by a name: Ventus. She watched from the boy's view as Ventus fought him before switching to an outside look of both of them. The memories blurred and flew by again as two more young adults came and went. Then came the pain, so much searing and pain as the dark teen dissolved into darkness. The most pain, however, came with the humiliation of loss before a name was uttered: Vanitas.

Raine snaps out of the vision, the reality coursing through her as her fingernails sink into, who she now knows to be, Vanitas' face. She pulls down hard. _Air_, her body pleads.

Vanitas, apparently coming out of the same stupor that stunned Raine, begins to give guttural cries before thrusting her to the ground.

She collapses to the ground and begins to inhale loads of life saving oxygen before looking out into the steadily lighter scene before her. The sun must be starting to rise even behind the dark rain clouds that again dumped buckets of cold rain.

Vanitas was still momentarily clutching his face when a thought occurred to her.

_Keyblade! Get the Keyblade!_

She scrambled to her feet on the slick patches of both dirt and pavement to get past the stairs. She had just gotten up to her feet to sprint before cringing into a flinched state. That last hit…how much damage did it do? She felt the tear again, but longed not to find out if the skin had broken.

Through the stifling pain, she hobbled down the stairs as a flash of lightning lit the area again. There was a sparkle at the end of the stairs.

"Yes!" Raine gasped in relief as she reached out prematurely for her life line.

"Looking for something?" Raine's heart dropped.

She whipped her head to her right to see Vanitas running sideways on the stone wall. His speed was staggering as he wielded his blade for attack and pushed himself off from the cliff. He landed just in front of the blade. Raine's hand was still extended in disbelief as she stood mere feet away from the dark being she now knew to Vanitas.

[Fade out: Enter the Darkness]


End file.
